Question
Hi

what is the difference between a chiropractor and an osteopath?

thanks

Answer
Dear Maree,

Thank you for your question regarding chiropractic and osteopathy.

The short answer is, there are many differences between a chiropractor and an osteopath.  The more complete answer takes into consideration the fundamental concept of what constitutes chiropractic.  

Since you use the term chiropractic in your question, it is obvious you've it heard before.  So that we're communicating clearly, though, understand that there are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.
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Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation. The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit  between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry vital information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells
immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.  

Because the spinal bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as tripping on the curb, picking up a child, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, etc.), which are, unfortunately, regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To further complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  In order to know if you have a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have your spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.


Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about your pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

In summary, then, a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor has the professional objective of checking the spine on a regular basis for vertebral subluxations and safely correcting those that are found so that the individual may express their optimum potential on all levels.  

I don't know what your level of knowledge is regarding osteopathy.  Since my area of expertise is straight chiropractic, I will limit my specific technical comments to my field only, keeping to the generalities of osteopathy for our discussion.  It is obvious, though, from the description of straight chiropractic above, that the two are quite different.  The objective of the osteopathic profession is the therapeutic assessment and treatment of diseases and ailments of various kinds, essentially identical to that of medicine.  Often, they are both considered within the field of medicine.  Chiropractic is not, though therapeutic mixing chiropractic shares the objective of treating ailments.  Some in the field see this segment of the chiropractic profession logically becoming a segment of the medical profession.

The process of correcting a vertebral subluxation is called an 揳djustment.? It is a method of allowing the spinal bone to return to its proper position, thereby removing the interference to the vital information transmitted over the nerves.  There is a procedure in osteopathy called 搈anipulation?in which various bones are moved.  This is probably why most people try to compare chiropractic and osteopathy.  Suffice it to say, though, that the difference in the core objective between non-therapeutic straight chiropractic and osteopathy makes any meaningful comparison almost impossible.  Though they may both deal with the human body and, in fact, some of the procedures used appear to be similar, the goals and, therefore, technical considerations are quite different.  The procedure of osteopathic manipulation is not directed toward the correction of vertebral subluxation and, so, it will not be applied with the same technical considerations or evaluated based upon the same analyses.  Chiropractic adjustment and osteopathic manipulation are not interchangeable terms or procedures at all.

Not all chiropractors adhere to non-therapeutic straight chiropractic and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service or continue your research.  If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at [email protected] or this site again.  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level.

Maree, it has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.  Please feel free to contact me if there are any questions about this information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.